The present invention relates sawhorses and sawhorse brackets, and more particularly to sawhorse brackets which facilitate the collapse of a sawhorse from a workpiece supporting configuration to a storage configuration.
The well-known sawhorse comprises a cross beam, oriented substantially horizontally, and supported by two pairs of legs, which extend downwardly and outwardly from the cross beam in a splayed configuration resembling an inverted "V". The time and effort required to fabricate this type of sawhorse can be greatly reduced by utilizing sawhorse brackets to join the pairs of legs to the cross beam of the horse. Typical examples of such brackets are disclosed in Walstrom U.S. Pat. No. 2,330,766; Larson U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,675; Larson U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,144; and Enders U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,075.
In each of these patents, the brackets disclosed each comprise a pair of opposing plates which define channels for receiving the legs of the sawhorse, and a cutout at an upper part thereof for receiving the cross beam. The legs are held in clamped relationship between the plates by nails which are driven into the legs and through holes in the plates, and/or by bolts which extend between the plates at a central location so that they do not interfere with the positioning of the legs. The cross beam is similarly attached to the plates by nails, or is held to the plates by a single bolt which is oriented substantially vertically and passes through a lug which is attached to one of the cross bolts. Movement of the brackets relative to the cross beam is prevented since the cross beam is held within the notches formed in the brackets.
While such sawhorses are relatively easy to fabricate and are relatively rigid, they are not collapsible and must be disassembled for storage, which requires that the nails attaching the brackets be removed and/or the bolts loosened and removed from the plates. The labor required, especially in removing the nails from the legs and cross beam, oftentimes prohibits this disassembly and, as a result, these sawhorses are rarely disassembled for storage.
However, sawhorses have been developed in which the legs fold relative to the cross beam to provide a collapsed configuration so that the sawhorse may be stored more easily. For example, in Schill U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,245, the legs are individually pivotable from a splayed, supporting configuration to a storage configuration in which they are aligned substantially parallel with the cross beam. In Larson U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,682, the legs each pivot about an axis which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the cross beam, so that the legs can be pivoted inwardly toward each other to lie in substantially the same plane as the cross beam when in a storage configuration.
A disadvantage with the Schill device is that it appears to be a relatively complicated design and therefore would be relatively expensive to fabricate. Furthermore, the legs must each be pivoted independently to knock down the sawhorse for storage, which requires additional time. A disadvantage with the Larson device is that, while the legs may be pivoted inwardly, the bracket, having a relatively triangular shape, remains fixed so that the overall shape of the collapsed sawhorse is not entirely in one plane.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sawhorse incorporating sawhorse brackets which are relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and provide for a sawhorse which can be oriented in a workpiece supporting configuration, or a storage configuration with a minimum of time and effort. Furthermore, the brackets should be relatively rugged in design and positively hold the legs and cross beam of the sawhorse.